Hilda Oenger
Hilda Esmeralda Oenger is a character. She is one of Philomena Develsbourne's oldest friends, usually known as a tart-tongued yet conflicted socialite. Life Youth Hilda Oenger was born on November 25, 1946, as the only child of Richard Oenger, an oil businessman that worked for the Dutch government, and Yvonne Lisal, an heiress to a plantation legacy, in Manado, Indonesia. He was previously married to someone else, and Hilda was the result of an affair. He divorced his wife and married Yvonne out of obligation, which resulted in an unhappy marriage. Hilda spent most of her youth in the stately seaside estate of her family, traversing the beaches, sailing on boats, and fishing with her cousins. Her father, who was a mostly absent figure in her life, spent most of his time working out of town, while her mother maintained a string of affairs, a line of men Hilda called Oom as a child. Their marriage started to fall apart, and in 1952 Hilda was sent to live with her maternal aunt, Martha Pesik, and her husband, Johan Pesik. Richard and Yvonne eventually divorced in 1953, with Yvonne winning custody over Hilda. She quickly married Magnus Westerbeek, a Dutch-Arabian banker, soon after and brought Hilda with her to live in Magnus' hometown in Paterosari, Kuningan, West Java. Magnus was a somewhat better father figure, but he and her mother would spoil Hilda as they were quite a well-off family. Her mother later gave birth to her half-brother Gustavo Westerbeek in 1955. It was in these years when she befriended Philomena Develsbourne, her sister Matilda Willem, and their friends Mimi Armanto, Erna Lubis, and Maya Hapsari. The six girls became a close group growing up, with Hilda often being thought of as 'the popular one' because she always followed the latest trends and styles. She dated Yahya Hidajat from high school until the early college years, when they broke up because of the distance and they couldn't stand each other anymore. Maya wound up dating him and later becoming engaged to him, much to Hilda's dismay. She estranged herself from the two and grew to resent them, and the group of friends fell apart slowly as they grew older, with Phil moving into the US to be with her husband Phillip Develsbourne. Adulthood Hilda moved to Mexico under her stepfather's guidance to work for a shipping company in 1973. While coming back to Indonesia in 1975, she became engaged to Theo Dumais, a boy that used to go to school with her in Manado. Theo was somewhat of a casanova, and Hilda enjoyed the lavish attention he paid to her in their early years of marriage. They had their first child, Olivia Oenger, in 1977, and their second child, Odelia Oenger, in 1982. Later life By the mid-1980s, conflicts began to arise between Hilda and Theo, and they decided to separate, with Theo moving back to Manado in 1989. Hilda's mother herself, upon being widowed in 1994, moved back to Manado in 1996. As some sort of exchange, Hilda's cousin Gladys Pesik was sent to live with her in Paterosari. Both of her parents had passed and Gladys was considered a spinster, so Yvonne suggested that Gladys would find purpose living with Hilda. The two became friends soon enough, with Gladys sort of becoming Hilda's sidekick. Hilda now lives with Gladys in Paterosari, along with their driver, Albert Prasetyo, their housekeeper Lindra Saraswati, and their four poodles: Sheba, Mama Prue, Miss May, and Bunny. Personality Hilda gives the impression of an uptight, austere woman with a refined taste in things and a frankness that can be seen as rather antagonistic at times. Inside, she is deeply insecure and fragile, and tries very hard to do the right thing. She grew up with a lot of pain, and because she lacked a great sense of self-esteem, she invented a strong personality of her own that gave her confidence and reassurance. Her loneliness is often not apparent, but is actually quite evident in the fact that she constantly distracts herself with hedonistic pastimes to fill in the gaps. She rarely slips out her fragility and she doesn't trust easily, but with people she trusts, she can be very open (and still try to regain her composure). Category:Characters Category:Female Characters Category:1946 births